Getting rejected

I’m about to hit send on a series of emails.
These emails are addressed to publishers.
My very first children’s picture book manuscript is attached to these emails.

I’ve been sitting on this manuscript for most of the year.
“I’m just polishing it,” I’d tell myself.
“The structure just needs a bit of reworking,” I’d argue.
“I’m just a bit unsure about some of my word choices,” I’d whisper uncertainly.
The main character, Eddie Spaghetti, has been a part of my life for awhile now.
I kinda feel like the parent at the school gate, sending him off into the playground alone for the first time.
He’s like my second baby. I’m ready to let go of him.
Thrusting him out there into Publisher Land is exciting but also daunting. Not to be Captain Negativity, but when it comes to getting published, I keep hearing a constant refrain-
Prepare to be rejected.
Again. And Again. And Again.

Did you know that the Mem Fox classic, “Possum Magic,” was rejected by 9 publishers over a period of 5 years?
9 times! 5 years!
Mem Fox!
Can you imagine a Possum Magic-free world?

So I find myself in a funny headspace. Ready to let go of my baby whilst trying to psyche myself up for some inevitable rejection. Nobody likes rejection, right?
What if nobody likes my baby?
The only way I’m going to find out is by hitting send. I just have to be big and brave and do it.
If anybody needs me, I’ll be the crazy lady wandering around singing “Que Sera Sera…. Whatever will be, will beeeeeeee.”

What is your relationship with rejection like? Healthy? Or do you avoid it like the plague?